Zanu PF dumps Sekeramayi, two others

HARARE - Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi, Health minister David Parirenyatwa and Deputy Agriculture minister Paddy Zhanda have been booted out of Zanu PF’s powerful central committee at the behest of President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace.

The well-choreographed removals came amid growing fears within the ruling party that its brutal factional and succession wars, that have included thuggish purges, are far from over despite expectations that its just-ended “elective” congress would have resulted in a calmer internal environment.

The three were kicked out yesterday together with Jerry Kwepera (Uzumba Muramba Pfungwe), Zikomborero Manguwo (Uzumba

They were accused of fanning factionalism in the ruling party and being close to former Mashonaland East provincial chairperson Ray Kaukonde, although the real reason for their ouster is said to be their perceived closeness to embattled Vice President Joice Mujuru.

Patrick Makombe, the interim provincial war veterans leader, told about 300 “war veterans” in Marondera yesterday that there was no way they could allow expelled

Kaukonde’s key allies to make it into the party’s central committee.

“The first list had names of people who supported Kaukonde. This has resulted in us gathering here today to remove those people.

“The people we removed are the same people who watched and never said anything when Kaukonde was perpetrating factionalism. So in our view they were part of factionalism,” Makombe said.

He also went on to accuse the senior party members of making attempts to save the former provincial chairperson.

“When we said Kaukonde should go they sat as the provincial coordinating committee and said they had confidence in Kaukonde. So you see they partook in factionalism and we will not accept that,” he said.

Makombe warned the interim provincial chair, Phineas Chihota, not to hold another meeting to come up with a new central committee list, saying such a move would be null and void.

As Makombe and his group were busy booting out the affected officials from the central committee, there were allegations that Chihota and his executive were at the same time busy compiling their own list in Harare.

“The president instructed us to go back to the province and remove Kaukonde’s people. That is what we are doing here at our provincial headquarters. Chihota can hold his meeting in Seke or anywhere, but it is null and void.

“So let us forget about Chihota’s meeting because it is not proper. Here we have all the nine districts selecting central committee members. So how can Chihota and his cabal appoint members on behalf of districts?

“If anything, Chihota is disrespecting the president,” Makombe added.

However, Chihota denied late yesterday that he had held a meeting in Harare to draw up a new central committee list.

“Something came up and we didn’t hold the meeting,” Chihota told the Daily News.

“I am not aware of what transpired in Marondera. I am in a short meeting and when I am done I will call you back,” he said in the telephone interview.

Yesterday’s purges followed directly from Mugabe’s encouragement of such a move at last week’s damp squib congress — in what analysts said was an endeavour to wipe out completely Mujuru’s support base.

Among a litany of allegations that Mujuru and her allies have faced are murky accusations that they have been plotting to oust and assassinate Mugabe.

Delivering his closing remarks at the congress, Mugabe said he had received a note from his wife Grace alleging that Kaukonde’s people had worked their way into the party’s central committee.

The president then went on to instruct the Mashonaland East province to weed out all perceived Mujuru loyalists.

“Go back to your province and sort this out. We want leaders who are voted by the people not imposed. Go and organise yourselves and provide us with a new list. It has to be before Wednesday because we want to choose members of the politburo,” Mugabe said.

It was in this light that the Marondera meeting took place yesterday, amid expectations that Sekeramayi, minister of State for provincial affairs Simbaneuta Mudarikwa and Chihota would find themselves out in the cold as their names had allegedly been rejected at the congress.

Sekeramayi, in particular, who was the most senior politburo member in the province, was accused of failing to rein in Kaukonde when the former provincial chairperson was allegedly sponsoring factional activities and sexually abusing female party members.

Lapdog State media also alleged yesterday that Sekeramayi’s “culpability” was made worse by the fact that he was the secretary for security in the politburo, with a brief to ensure Mugabe’s security “... but he apparently did nothing let alone alert the politburo about the sinister plots, yet all the machinations were happening right under his nose, leading many to conclude he was party to the Mujuru cabal”.

Comments (23)

Guys, guys, guys, VOTES of no confidence in this man. One day Mugabe says MDC won the election by 73%, the other he said pasi neZanu. 2 FATAL "slips of the tongue". If surely it has become this slippery then it should be served with a VOTE of NO confidence. Surely if in Zanu PF there is no one to supersede this man @ the age of 90 then here is my VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE for ZANUPF. Come on guys!

allofus - 9 December 2014

it appears as if genuine people are the ones purged out of the party. this might present very interesting dynamics in the party. i hope our party will survive this storm. there are clear indications that the party is now splintered in two. what will happen tomorrow sound an interesting phenomena. all we can do is wait and hope that things will get better for us.

taurai - 9 December 2014

Well done DisGrace, next step is what??? You f****ng bitch!!!!!! Your days are numbered

Garikayi - 9 December 2014

Mugabe's family should go to mash-east and install thier own people.

selele - 9 December 2014

The issue of buzzing people from outside provinces to remove PCC in a particular province is now haunting zanu pf. Mutinhiri said the province is full behind kaukonde. Hired thugs came and removed him. Now it comes to voting by party stractures in that province for central committe members. The hired thugs are not within the stractures to vote. The best they will get is a "moderate kaukonde" supporter.

It takes two to tango, that's a well known fact. What is fictitious however is how only one side is being accused of fanning factionalism. Who were Mujuru's cronies in battle with if not Mnangagwa's faction? Why then is it that only one side is being purged? What qualities did Mugabe look at before settling for a side to support? Although I do not like ZANU PF, what I have noticed is that the moderate ones and who happened to be on Mujuru's side seem to have been an easy target, the likes of Rugare Gumbo, Cephas Msipa, Sekeramayi, Olivia Muchena, Francis Nhema and Mzembi. The way Grace has shaken the political field of this country in just two months shows she is a woman with a lot to lose if things do not go her way, I say good luck on that one, only time will tell.

Dr Know - 9 December 2014

dr know, i like your understanding. the dynamics of zanu pf politics is being played out with a hidden agenda than what we are being made to believe. i am enjoying watching as this drama is panning out in zanu pf circles

mhofu - 9 December 2014

The Zanoids are giving themselves an overdue self-inflicted enema. All this activity is deemed to be necessary to decongest the bloated; constipated and psychopathic hierarchy. Water users in the Harare area need to watch the elevated levels of pollution, toxic and noxious fumes, cholera, diarrhoea, emanating from lake chivero

Tsitsi Chihuri - 9 December 2014

zanu chiororo vanhu vese ava vakauraya muzita re zpf

watson hondo - 9 December 2014

managing director of Telone,and Zesa and its board members must be fired cause they where working in cahoots with their ministers please Mr president this is a fact including some councilors under Nhema and many more they where in support of what they were doing please do that first

mr honest - 9 December 2014

managing director of Telone,and Zesa and its board members must be fired cause they where working in cahoots with their ministers please Mr president this is a fact including some councilors under Nhema and many more they where in support of what they were doing please do that first

mr honest - 9 December 2014

ku kika datya huriyambutsa.

zvirozviyedzwa - 9 December 2014

Thanks,' First family' for destroying this cancerous monster that was born in 1963 and resulted in the endless suffering of Zimbabweans. Remember you are also going down with the Monster-surely you are,mark my word. Zimbabwe will never be the same again. Next year marks the beginning of good years for zimbo without Zanu pf.

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